Thermostatically controlled valve



A ril 20, 1965 J. E. WOODS 3,179,339

THERMOSTATICALLY CONTROLLED VALVE Filed Feb. 7, 1963 25 INVE NTO R JOHN awooos (DECEASED),BY 40 20 4 ELEANORE WO0DS(EXECUTRIX),ANJ

"' PAUL a. SARGENT(EXECUTOR) J 5 ATTORNEY United States Patent 3,179,339 THERMQSTATICALLY CONTROLLED VALVE John E. Woods, deceased, late of Cohasset, Mass, by Eleanore Woods, executrix, Cohasset, Mass., and Paul B. Sargent, executor, Boston, Mass, assignors to Standard-Thomson Corporation, Waltham, Mass., a

corporation of Delaware Filed Feb. 7, 1963, Ser. No. 257,374 6 Claims. (Cl. 23634) This invention relates to fluid control apparatus. The invention relates more particularly to fluid control apparatus having thermally responsive operator means.

In most types of automobile engines the valve apparatus used to control flow of fluid in the cooling system of the engine should be apparatus which operates accurately in response to temperature changes. It is highly desirable that the operation of the valve apparatus is not affected by fluid pressure conditions.

Therefore, it is an object of this invention to provide fluid control apparatus which is particularly adapted for use in the cooling system of an internal combustion engine of an automobile.

Another object of this invention is to provide such fluid apparatus, the opening operation of which is affected by temperature conditions but is not affected by fluid pres sure conditions.

Another object of this invention is to provide such fluid control apparatus which may be manufactured in quantity production at comparatively low cost and which is long-lived.

Other objects and advantages reside in the construction of parts, the combination thereof, the method of manufacture, and the mode of operation, as will become more apparent from the following description.

In the drawings:

FIGURE 1 is a longitudinal sectional view, with parts broken away, of fluid control apparatus of this invention.

FIGURE 2 is a sectional view similar to FIGURE 1 but showing elements of the apparatus in a position of operation.

FIGURE 3 is a sectional view similar to FIGURES l and 2 but showing elements of the invention in another position of operation.

FIGURE 4 is a sectional view, with parts broken away, taken substantially on line 4-4 of FIGURE 1.

FIGURE 5 is a view taken substantially on line 5--5 of FIGURE 3 but with parts broken away.

Referring to the drawings in detail, fluid control apparatus of this invention comprises frame structure or'support structure having an annular flange 12 within which is formed a valve seat portion 14.

Engageable with the valve seat 14 is an annular movable valve member 16. A plurality of connector members 18 firmly join the movable valve'member 16 to a rigid container 20 of an actuator member 22. The actuator member 22 is of the type which is pressure insensitive. The actuator 22 may be of the type disclosed by Patent No. 2,806,375 or Patent No. 2,806,376 in which a quantity of thermally responsive expansible-contractible material (not shown) acts upon an actuator rod 24 so that upon expansion of the material there is relative axial movement between the actuator rod 24 and the. container 20.

The movable valve member 16 has an inwardly extending engagement portion 26 which retains one end of a helical spring or resilient member 28. The other end of the spring 28 is attached to a cross-member 30 which is carried by a plurality of legs 32 which extend from the valve seat portion 14 of the support structure 10. Thus, the spring 28 is in tension and urges the movable valve member 16 toward the valve seat 14.

3,179,339 Patented Apr. 20, 1965 Encompassing the container 20 is a sleeve 38 which is constructed of any rigid material such as metal or the like. The sleeve 38 closely encompasses the rod 24. The sleeve 38 also has a flange portion 40 which is movable betweenthe engagement portion 26 of the movable valve member 16 and the connector members 18.

Sealing means 44, preferably of elastomeric material, are carried by the sleeve 38 and slidably engage the movable valve member 16. The sealing means 44 also slidably engages the rod 24. Preferably, the sealing means 44 is a continuous unitary wall which is attached to the sleeve 38 along the length thereof. Also, the sealing means 44 is shown extending through the opening in the sleeve 38 within which the rod 24 is disposed. Thus, an abutment portion 45 of the sealing means 44 is shown as normally engaging an adapter 46 which connects the rod 24 to the cross-member 30, as illustrated in FIGURES 1 and 2.

- Operation As stated above, the apparatus of this invention is adapted to be disposed within a fluid conduit for control of flow of fluid therein in accordance with the temperature of the fluid. The apparatus is disposed so that the container 20 is on the upstream side of the apparatus.

FIGURE 1 shows the fluid control apparatus in a closed position with the movable valve member 16 in engagement with the valve seat 14. However, fluid pressure on the upstream side of the apparatus, as illustrated by arrows in FIGURE 1, does not exert appreciable forces upon the movable valve member 16 due to the fact that the movable valve member 16 substantially consists of an annular wall. Fluid on the upstream side may move through the spaces between the connector members 18, as shown by arrows in FIGURE 1, and any fluid pressure present is exerted upon the sleeve 38 and /or upon the wall of elastometric sealing material 44.

Thus, when the temperature of the fluid on the upstream side of the apparatus reaches a certain predetermined value, the fluid which engages the container 20 causes increase in temperature within the container 20 which results in increase in pressure within the container 20. Thus, the actuator member 22 urges relative movement between the container 20 and the rod 24. Due to the fact that the rod 24 is connected to the crossmember 30, the container 20 moves in a direction from the rod 24. Due to the fact that the container 20 is attached to the movable valve member 16 by means of the connector members 18, the movable valvemember 16 moves with movement of the container 20. Such movement of the movable valve member 16 is substantially free from any opposing pressure of fluid since the fluid pressure is primarily applied tothe sealing wall 44 of the sleeve 38' Therefore, the movable valve member 16 readily moves from engagement with the valve seat 14 and fluid flows through the port formed by the valve seat 14, as shown by arrows in FIGURE 2. Such movement of the movable valve member 16 is against the resilient forces of the spring 28 due to the fact that the spring 28 engages the engagement portion 26 of the movable valve member 16.

As the movable valve member 16 moves from the position thereof shown in FIGURE 1 to the position thereof shown in FIGURE 2, the movable valve member 16 slidably engages the elastomeric sealing material 44 which is carried by the sleeve 38. Therefore, the position of the sleeve 38 remains unchanged as the movable valve member 16 moves from the position thereof shown in FIG- URE 1 to the position thereof shown in FIGURE 2. It is to be noted, that when the movable valve member 16 is positioned as shown in FIGURE 2, the sleeve 38 or the sealing material 44 thereof is in engagement with the engagement portion 26 of the movable valve member 16.

if the temperature of the fluid which engages the container 2t) continues to increase, the pressure within the container 2% increases and there is continued movement of the container 20 with respect to the rod 24. Thus, the container 20 moves the movable valve member 16 a greater distance from the valve seat 14, as shown in FIG- URE 3. Such continued movement of the movable valve member 16 causes movement of the sleeve 38 as the engagement portion 26 of the movable valve member 16 moves the sleeve 38 with movement of the movable valve member 16, as shown in FIGURE 3. Thus, there is a greater opening for passage of fluid between the movable valve member 16 and the valve seat 14, as shown in FIG- URE 3.

As the temperature of the fluid which engages the container decreases there is less force upon the portion of the rod 24 within the container 20. Thus, the spring 28 is permitted to move the movable valve member 16 toward the valve seat 14 until there is again engagement of the valve member 16 with the valve seat 14, as shown in FIGURE 1.

Movement of the movable valve member 16 toward the valve seat 14 causes movement of the sleeve 33 as the sealing material 44, carried by the flange 4d of the sleeve 38, is engagedby the connector members 18. Also, pressure of fluid upon the elastomeric wall 44 urges the sleeve 38 toward the cross-member 39. Thus, the sleeve 33 is returned to its position shown in FIGURE 1. Thus, it is understood that opening and closing operation of the fluid control apparatus of this invention is not appreciably affected by pressure conditions of the fluid controlled by the apparatus.

Although the preferred embodiment of the device has been described, it will be understood that within the purview of this invention various changes may be made in the form, details, proportion and arrangement of parts, the combination thereof and mode of operation, which generally statedconsist in a device capable of carrying out the objects set forth, as disclosed and defined in the appended claims.

Having thus described the invention, what is claimed is:

1. Fluid control apparatus comprising:

support structure having an annular valve seat forming a fluid port, the fluid port having an inlet side and an outlet side,

thermally responsive actuator means including a rod attached to the support structure and extending through the fluid port, 7

the thermally responsive actuator means also including a rigid container into which the rod extends so that the rod and the container are reciprocally relatively movable,

an annular closure member fixedly attached to the container and movable therewith, the closure member being engag'eable with the valve seat at theinlet side of the fluid port and movable toward and away from the valve seat at the inlet side of the fluid port, the closure member having an abutment portion,

a tension spring member attached to the support structure and to the closure member and urging the closure member toward the valve seat,

a rigid sleeve sealingly and slidably encompassing the rod, the sleeve also slidably sealingly engaging the closure member, the sleeve having a surface which is.

engaged by fluid which is at the inlet side ofthe fluid port so that the fluid urges the sleeve toward the abutment portion of the closure member, the sleeve. having anengagement portion engageable with the. abutment portion of the closure member, fthe abutment portion of the closure member being intermediate said engagement portion of the sleeve and the valve seat, the sleeve being movable with respect to the abutment portion of the closure member, said abutment portion of the closure member 1 being spaced from the engagement portion of th sleeve when the closure member is in engagement with the valve seat so that upon movement of the closure member in a direction from the ,valve seat the abutment portion of the closure member does not engage the engagement portion of the sleeve until after the closure member moves a given distance from the valve seat, and further movement of the closure member in a direction from the 'valve seat causes the closure member to move the sleeve against the pressure of the fluid upon said surface thereof. 2. Fluid control apparatus including: support structure provided with an annular valve seat forming a fluid port having an inlet side and an outlet side, an annular valve member engageable with the valve seat and movable toward and away from the valve seat at the inlet sideof the fluid port, thermally responsive actuator means having a fixed portion attached to the support structure, the thermally responsive actuator means also having a movable portion which is movable toward and away from the valve seat, 7 means attaching the annular valve member to said movable portion of the actuator means for movement of the annular valve member with movement of said movable portion,

the annular valve member having an abutment portion,

a sleeve slidingly sealingly encompassing the fixed portion of the actuator means, the sleeve having a surface engaged by fluid on the inlet side of the fluid port, the sleeve also being in sliding sealing engage ment with the annular valve member, the sleeve hav= ing an engagement portion which is spaced from the I abutment portion of the annular valve member when the annular valve member is in engagement with the valve seat, the engagement portion of'the sleeve being abuttingly engaged by the abutment portion of the annular valve member after the annular valve member moves a given distance from the valve seat so that further movement of the annular valve member causes movement of the sleeve against the pressure of the fluid on said surface thereof.

3. Fluid control apparatus comprising:

support structure provided with an annular valve seat forming a fluid port having an inlet side and an outlet side, a

a rod attached to the support structure,

a rigid container thermally responsive actuator member provided with an opening through which the rod slidably extends so that there is relative movement between the rod and the rigid container thermally responsive member,

an annular valve member engageable with the valve seat, the valve member being movable toward and away from the valve seat, the annular valve member having an internal surface provided with an abutment part, 7

means connecting the annular valve member to the rigid container of the thermally responsive actuator member for movement of the annular valve member with movement of the rigid containerthernrally responsive actuator member,

resilient means engaging the support structure and the annular valve member urging movement of the annular valve member toward the valve seat,

a sealing-member slidably encompassing the rod, the

sealing member extending from the rod to the annular valve member and slidably engaging the internal surface of the annular valve member, the sealing member having a surface which is engaged by fluid on the inlet side of the fluid port,'the sealing member normally abutting a portion of the support structure to limit movement thereof in the direction of fluid flow through the fluid port, the sealing member having an engagement portion which is engaged by the abutment part of the annular valve member after the valve member has moved from engagement with the valve seat so that further movement of the annular valve member moves the sealing member against the pressure of fluid applied to said surface of the sealing member.

4. Fluid control apparatus comprising:

support structure having a valve seat forming a fluid port having an inlet side and an outlet side,

a hollow cylindrical movable closure member having an end engageable with the valve'seat, the closure member being movable into and out of engagement with the valve seat,

a rigid container thermally responsive actuator,

a connector member joining the rigid container thermally responsive actuator to the movable valve member,

the actuator including a rod movably extending from the container and connected to the support structure,

the hollow cylindrical movable closure member having an internal wall provided with a protruding abutment portion,

a tension spring member engaging the abutment portion, the spring member also extending through the fluid port and being attached to the support structure and urging the movable closure member toward the valve seat,

a rigid annular sleeve encompassing the thermally responsive actuator and having a flange portion movable between the abutment portion of the movable closure member and the connector member, the flange portion of the sleeve being spaced from the abutment portion of the movable closure member when the closure member is in engagement with the valve seat,

elastomeric sealing means carried by the, sleeve and having a portion slidably engaging the internal wall surface of the hollow cylindrical element of the movable closure member, the elastomeric means also having a portion slidably encompassing the rod of the thermally responsive actuator, the sleeve having a surface engaged by fluid on the inlet side of the fluid port so that after the movable closure member moves from the valve seat a given distance the abutment portion of the movable closure member engages the flange portion of the sleeve so that further movement of the movable closure member causes movement of the sleeve'against thepressure of fluid applied to said surface of the sleeve. 7

5. Fluid control apparatus comprising:

support structure having a fluid port providing a flow passage forming a valve seat, the fluid port having an upstream side and a downstream side,

an annular movable valve member engageable with the valve seat and movable toward and away from the valve seat, the movable valve member being on the upstream side of the fluid port, the movable valve member having an abutment portion,

a pressure insensitive actuator including a rigid container and a rod reciprocally movably extensible therefrom,

a plurality of connector members joining the annular movable valve member to the container, the container being disposed within the annular movable valve member and substantially concentric therewith, the rod being substantially coaxial with the annular movable valve member and having a portion at- 6 tached to the support structure on the downstream side of the fluid port, sleeve encompassing the rod and the container and being axially movable with respect thereto, the sleeve being in slidable sealing engagement with the rod and with the annular valve member so that fluid which passes from the upstream side to the downstream side of the fluid port must pass between the valve seat and the movable valve member, the sieeve having a surface which is engaged by fluid on the upstream side of the fluid port, resilient tension spring extending through the fluid port and attached to the annular valve member and to the support structure and urging the movable valve member toward the valve seat so that all movement of the movable valve member is against the force of the tension spring,

the sleeve having a part which is spaced from the abutment portion of the movable valve member when the movable valve member is in engagement with the valve seat, the abutment portion of the movable valve member engaging said part of the sleeve when the movable valve member moves a given distance from the valve seat so that further movement of the movable valve member is against the pressure of the fluid upon said surface of the sleeve, in addition to the force of the resilient tension spring.

6. Fluid valve mechanism comprising: support structure provided with a fluid port having an inlet side and an outlet side and forming a valve seat,

an annular closure member engageable with the valve seat and reciprocally movable with respect thereto, the closure member having an opening therethrough, the closure member having an abutment portion,

pressure insensitive actuator means attached to the closure member and substantially coaxial therewith, the actuator means having a portion thereof connected to the support structure for movement of the closure member with respect to the support structure,

sealing means in sliding sealing engagement with the closure member and with the actuator means,

resilient means engaging the support structure and the closure member and urging the closure member toward the valve seat so that all movement of the closure member is against the force of the resilient means,

the sealing means having a surface which is engaged by fluid'on the inlet side of the fluid port, the sealing means also having an engagement part which is spaced from the abutment portion of the closure member when the closure member is in engagement With the valve seat so that after the closure member has moved a given distance from the valve seat further movement of the closure member moves the sealing means against the pressure of fluid upon said surface thereof so that the force required for such further movement of the closure member must exceed the fluid force applied to the sealing means as well as the force of the resilient means.

References Cited by the Examiner UNITED ST AIES PATENTS 2/59 Puster 23634 2/59 Puster 23634 8/61 Freismuth 23634 EDWARD J. MICHAEL, Primary Examiner. 

1. FLUID CONTROL APPARATUS COMPRISING: SUPPORT STRUCTURE HAVING AN ANNULAR VALVE SEAT FORMING A FLUID PORT, THE FLUID PORT HAVING AN INLET SIDE AND AN OUTLET SIDE, THERMALLY RESPONSIVE ACTUATOR MEANS INCLUDING A ROD ATTACHED TO THE SUPPORT STRUCTURE AND EXTENDING THROUGH THE FLUID PORT, THE THERMALLY RESPONSIVE ACTUATOR MEANS ALSO INCLUDING A RIGID CONTAINER INTO WHICH THE ROD EXTENDS SO THAT THE ROD AND THE CONTAINER ARE RECIPROCALLY RELATIVELY MOVABLE, AN ANNULAR CLOSURE MEMBER FIXEDLY ATTACHED TO THE CONTAINER AND MOVABLE THEREWITH, THE CLOSURE MEMBER BEING ENGAGEMENT WITH THE VALVE SEAT AT THE INLET SIDE OF THE FLUID PORT AND MOVABLE TOWARD AND AWAY FROM THE VALVE SEAT AT THE INLET SIDE OF THE FLUID PORT, THE CLOSURE MEMBER HAVING AN ABUTMENT PORTION, A TENSION SPRING MEMBER ATTACHED TO THE SUPPORT STRUCTURE AND TO THE CLOSURE MEMBER AND URGING THE CLOSURE MEMBER TOWARD THE VALVE SEAT, A RIGID SLEEVE SEALINGLY AND SLIDABLY ENCOMPASSING THE ROD, THE SLEEVE ALSO SLIDABLY SEALINGLY ENGAGING THE CLOSURE MEMBER, THE SLEEVE HAVING A SURFACE WHICH IS ENGAGED BY FLUID WHICH IS AT THE INLET SIDE OF THE FLUID PORT SO THAT THE FLUID URGES THE SLEEVE TOWARD THE ABUTMENT PORTION OF THE CLOSURE MEMBER, THE SLEEVE HAVING AN ENGAGEMENT PORTION ENGAGEABLE WITH THE ABUTMENT PORTION OF THE CLOSURE MEMBER, THE ABUTMENT PORTION OF THE CLOSURE MEMBER BEING INTERMEDIATE SAID ENGAGEMENT PORTION OF THE SLEEVE AND THE VALVE SEAT, THE SLEEVE BEING MOVABLE WITH RESPECT TO THE ABUTMENT PORTION OF THE CLOSURE MEMBER, SAID ABUTMENT PORTION OF THE CLOSURE MEMBER BEING SPACED FROM THE ENGAGEMENT PORTION OF THE SLEEVE WHEN THE CLOSURE MEMBER IS IN ENGAGEMENT WITH THE VALVE SEAT SO THAT UPON MOVEMENT OF THE CLOSURE MEMBER IN A DIRECTION FROM THE VALVE SEAT THE ABUTMENT PORTION OF THE CLOSURE MEMBER DOES NOT ENGAGE THE ENGAGEMENT PORTION OF THE SLEEVE UNTIL AFTER THE CLOSURE MEMBER MOVES A GIVEN DISTANCE FROM THE VALVE SEAT, AND FURTHER MOVEMENT OF THE CLOSURE MEMBER IN A DIRECTION FROM THE VALVE SEAT CAUSES THE CLOSURE MEMBER TO MOVE THE SLEEVE AGAINST THE PRESSURE OF THE FLUID UPON SAID SURFACE THEREOF. 